ambulatory services

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has proposed proposed changes in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) aimed at strengthening advanced alternative payment models and creating a prospective payment system for post-acute-care settings.

The commission also suggests that MIPS should be based on population- health measures.

The commission notes that growing consolidation of hospitals and physicians has generally increased prices without improving care. So, in response, the report’s authors recommend restraining Medicare prices to address horizontal consolidation and imposing site-neutral pricing in response to vertical consolidation.

The panel has also asked policymakers to consider cutting payment rates for emergency departments that aren’t on hospital campuses and ending exemptions to site-neutral payments for ambulatory services.